


Alpha tendencies and other fuckeries

by Heledia



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alpha Eren Yeager, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Smut, Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin) Swears A Lot, Levi has a tough past, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Omega Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Pining, Self-Harm, Slow Burn, but not really, no beta we die like men, questionable medical practices
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-07
Updated: 2020-09-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:54:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 17,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25770022
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Heledia/pseuds/Heledia
Summary: Levi has finally gotten his life back in order. He has a decent job, a place to call home and few surprisingly good friends. Most importantly, his scent and pheromones are finally in check, thank fuck. If only he hadn't been found by a persistent brat of an alpha, who wants to invite him to his makeshift pack and won't take no for an answer. Also, how the fuck does one call werewolves wolfies with a straight face?
Relationships: Levi/Eren Yeager
Comments: 22
Kudos: 133





	1. First meeting(s)

**Author's Note:**

> Hejj so uhm this is my first fic? That being said, it's probably trash, but I do try to make it polished trash! I have no beta and English is not my native language, so all mistakes are my own. This is also veeeeeery self-indulgent, so beware. Quarantine made me a mess and this is basically my way of coping with it. I hope you all stay safe!

Levi took pride in having his emotions in control, at all times.

Sure, he might snap or yell at some idiots, of course, but it was still a part of his façade, his mask never slipping away. Not in public, at least. And most importantly, never at his job. So what if the raven appeared angry or constipated or whatever he heard some customers whisper about when they thought he couldn’t hear; Levi didn’t care, and neither did his boss, as long as he stayed polite enough. He was an efficient worker and couldn’t be fired for something simple as a resting bitch face. Which was the expression on his face, his mask, that he never let fade. Well. Except for now. But then again, it’s not like Levi had expected to be ambushed by some way too enthusiastic alpha, practically begging him to join his pack. What in the actual fuck?

“... Like, I know this is sudden and all, but when I saw you and smelled you, I just had to offer my help, you know? I can’t even bear to understand how hard it has been for you, but don’t worry, it’s gonna be okay I swear!” The tall and tan bastard finished his little speech.

At least Levi hoped it was the end of it. The raven had been frozen in place, lips parted and brows furrowed as he stared up at the stranger. The height difference was making him even more annoyed, as he had been forced to spend five minutes of his precious break time with his neck at an uncomfortable angle. It was starting to hurt by now. Levi brought his hand up to pull the collar of his black turtleneck higher up, eyes narrowing. He might not have listened to all the other had to stay, too thrown off by the strong scent, but he had heard enough to get the gist of it. And he was in no way pleased.

“I don’t know what the everloving fuck gave you the idea, but I’m not looking for a pack.” Levi spat out, nose crunched up in distaste at the mere idea of it. Though seeing the previously excited expression turn comically into a startled one did make him grin inwardly. Take that, alpha fuck, must hurt to get turned down huh! The brat had probably been spoiled all his life, basking in all of his “alpha glory” and getting everything handed to him on a golden spoon. At least that’s how it seemed to Levi, with the way the brunet was now gaping at him. It even took a while for the taller male to gain his composure again.

“Uh… You… Are not alone? Is that it? Sorry, I must have smelled you wrong, it’s just that your own scent is barely there and I couldn’t smell other wolves on you either, so I assumed… Well, clearly I assumed wrong.”

He seemed quite sheepish now. With the whole “scratching his neck and glancing to the side with cheeks slightly pink from embarrassment” look he was giving now. Until something in his eyes flashed in realization and he started to smile at him brightly. Too brightly, in Levi’s opinion, it’s not like the raven was the center of the universe of this alpha. Or of anyone, for the matter. What the fuck had gotten the other this excited?

“What’s the name of your pack?” Oh. That. Figures he’d be interested in other werewolves, but too bad for him, Levi wasn’t. At all. So he didn’t answer, which the taller shithead took only as a chance to talk more.

“I wasn’t aware there were others in this area, but then again this is a big city! Where do you live? Is your pack large? Maybe me and my friends could come by one day, it’d be great to see others! I really did think we were the only ones here!” Levi had a feeling this could go on for forever, but he didn’t have that long, and even if he did, he wouldn’t spend that time with someone as eccentric as this alpha asshole. So he just laid the facts as they were.

“Listen to me now. I don’t have a pack, and I’m not fucking looking for one, so you can take your overeager-pack-leading-whatever shitty alpha tendencies as far away from this café and me, because I swear to god your stench is giving me a headache I don’t need in the middle of my break. So please, do kindly fuck off and go play house with someone else, because. I’m. Not. Fucking. Interested.” Before the alpha could say anything to Levi’s harsh words, he had already turned around, stepping inside to the backroom of his workplace.

Okay, so maybe it hadn’t been his wisest decision to anger an alpha. It was never a good idea. And honest to god he hadn’t even meant to say so much, simple “fuck off” could have sufficed. But there had just been something about the alpha that really irked him, and like he had said, he really didn’t need this headache the bastard’s scent had given him. Maybe it was because he hadn’t been near other wolves in so long, yeah… That had to be it. Levi sighed heavily and scratched the sensitive skin around his neck, before shaking his head and deciding to just forget about it. He had work to do, and surely the alpha couldn’t be as stupid as to come back to him after that, right?

…

Or maybe he had been a fool to hope for such a thing.

“I’m just worried, okay?”

Yep, he definitely had been a fool to hope to be left alone by the alpha brat. It didn’t take a full day before the bratty bastard was back. God forbid the universe would actually let Levi have one easy day in his miserable life. Right now he couldn’t even tell him to take his ass and the stupid card with his contact info away from the café, as he was a paying customer. It’s not like he could yell at one. So instead, he just looked at him indifferently, staying quiet.

The brunet let out an exasperated sigh, pushing the card closer. He looked straight into Levi’s eyes, his gaze desperate enough to make him feel uneasy. Damn alphas… Levi bit down at his lip, not taking his eyes off of him, and definitely not submitting to the other. There was no chance in hell he’d ever do that again. And maybe it was his own determination, or the line growing behind the brunet, but the alpha finally looked away, nodding slowly.

“Just… I don’t know, text me, call me, whatever. Please. I want to help.”

And Levi could see it in his eyes and hear it in his voice, that there was something more to it. Something left unsaid. Something the other couldn’t bring up with humans all around them. But the raven didn’t say anything about, didn’t give him a confirmative nod, just kept looking at him and his bright eyes. Were they contacts? It didn’t seem to fit the overall picture of the brat, but how could that coloured irises even exist? Why was he even debating this? Levi pushed those thoughts away as quickly as they had come and nodded towards the coffee-to-go.

“There’s a line behind you, so if you don’t have anything else to say or to purchase, I have to ask you kindly to leave.” He muttered, voice monotone. It annoyed him to no end that something in his words made the other one smirk lightly after the short-lived embarrassment of taking the other customers’ time. The alpha nodded and picked up his cup.

“Yeah, of course, sorry. Thank you for _kindly_ reminding me…” he trailed off and Levi cursed inside his head profusely when his eyes darted down to his name tag “Levi.” The brunet gave him a nod with another smirk, before finally taking his leave. And Levi knew he had lost this round.

He kept cursing inside his head as he rang up more customers, sorting out the line and preparing what was needed of him. Fucking brat. Thinking he could do anything he wanted… Such a bastard, truly, just like all alphas. And really, it had been an unfair win! It’s not like he could yell at him while at work! A part of Levi, hidden under all his annoyance, was more worried of the fact that he regarded this as the other’s win. Because that meant that there was some kind of tally he was keeping, and there shouldn’t be one, because he wouldn’t need it. There would be no need to keep tabs of who was winning, since the alpha surely wouldn’t come back anymore!

But even that small part of Levi didn’t fully believe in that. For the other werewolf was an alpha, and alphas didn’t give up until they had what they wanted.

…

Third time was said to be a charm, but for Levi it sure as hell wasn’t. The alpha had caught him during his break again, and he wasn’t so sure it was a good thing that they didn’t have people around them right now. While Levi could yell at the other if he so wished, it also meant that the brunet could talk to him about all the werewolf talk. And Levi so wasn’t in the mood for this…

“Levi, I know you might not want me here, but I do wanna help you! Wolves are pack animals, and especially when you are young, it’s really hard to go without others around you. I couldn’t get through this here without my friends, so please, it must be even harder for you. Just talk to me, okay?”

Levi glared up at him. Did he ever shut his mouth? Constantly monologuing, or maybe it was more like rambling, about helping Levi. And what was this thing about being young? The alpha couldn’t be older than him, what the fuck? He leaned against one of the rubbish bins with a groan. Would the stupid alpha ever get his point? Or was he too thick-headed for that?

“For fuck’s sake, I have survived on my own just fine before your pretentious ass came about! I don’t need a pack, I don’t need other wolves around me, and I’m pretty sure I’m even older than you so your logic is even more faulty!” This time, he hadn’t meant to snap. But he couldn’t help himself with the alpha’s pheromones and scent surrounding him. While his past actions had helped with his own, he couldn’t control others’ scents. With humans, it wasn’t so bad, but with other werewolves it was an entirely different story. And he shouldn’t have even met any! And definitely not any alphas who wanted to "help" him and practically use him as their charity project!

Levi was slightly enraged to the point he couldn’t even take pleasure in the other’s dumbfounded expression. Which was a sight to behold for sure, but not enough so to calm him down. He let out a sigh and crossed his arms. “Gave up yet?” The raven inquired, still glaring up at him. And the bastard had the cheek to just chuckle ever so softly and shook his head.

“Nah, ‘giving up’ doesn’t belong in my vocabulary.” He announced cockily, as if that was something to be proud of. Levi resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Alphas…

“I thought you would have gotten the memo already, though, I mean, it should be clear I’m not letting you go! In the least creepy way possible, I swear! So please don’t file a restraining order against me or anything.”

“You’re making it sound pretty fucking tempting.” Levi deadpanned, but of course he wouldn’t do such a thing. As if he’d want to put any more time and effort into this debacle, it was getting ridiculous.

His remark made the alpha laugh, which should have annoyed Levi even more than it did, all things considered. “Well, thanks for the sentiment I guess? But how about instead of doing that, we’d start this all over?” The brunet suggested, offering out his hand with a thousand-watt smile on his face. “Hi, my name is Eren Jaeger! I moved here to study at the Trost university with my two closest friends, who are also wolfies. We all, well, mostly me, they think I’m being sort of crazy, would like to offer you the chance to come hang out with us, even if you don’t want to join our temporary pack away from home!”

Wolfies? Was this alpha even real? To be fair, he couldn’t be a creep if he used language like that, so that was crossed off his list then. Levi glanced down at the offered hand. By all means, he really shouldn’t shake it, but that could be a chance to finally get rid of the alpha- or Eren, should he think? The name wouldn’t be new information had he actually looked at the other's card, rather than discarded it immediately, but whatever. His name shouldn’t matter, because he didn’t need that info. Levi would just need to hammer it inside the other’s thick skull that there was no chance in hell he’d join his makeshift pack.

“Okayyy, usually at this point I’d get to hear your full name too and age preferably as well and maybe some other info would be cool too. I’m 19!”

“Tch, you sure about that? By the way you announce it, I’d say you’re still a brat.” So he was younger than Levi, but that he had guessed already. “And why in the fuck would I give you my full name? For all I know you’d search up my address and come creeping to my door the next time.”

“Oh! Uhm…” He scratched at his chin in quite the same fashion he had done on their first meeting, after getting flustered. “Okay, well, for the record I wasn’t gonna do that. I mean I wouldn’t even know how and I don’t think YouTube has a tutorial for that kind of hacking, but! That’s not the point. I swear I’m not trying to creeping on you, I just…” Eren trailed off before chuckling a little. “Like you said, it’s partly because of… what were they, overeager… pack leading alpha tendencies?”

The brat remembered and was being cheeky about it, dear lord. Levi would wonder what he had done to deserve this, but then again, it seemed like the world just really hated him. It’s not like he asked this alpha idiot to find him… But perhaps he was exaggerating just the slightest bit. Not that he’d ever admit that out loud to anyone but himself inside his head. To answer he simply let out a non-committal grunt, which unfortunately didn’t dampen the brunet’s mood. 

“And hey, besides! Soon you’ll feel the pull too, I’m sure of it!” Eren continued brightly. Again, way too brightly for his liking. Levi could never understand how some people just… Shone like that, no matter the situation. That, too, annoyed him, but as it seemed like almost everything about Eren annoyed him, he wasn’t too surprised.

“And what makes you think that, brat?” He asked with cocked brows.

“I mean, I feel like your presenting is near or something. It’s just one of those feelings, I’d say ‘you know’, but, like, you will know after presenting! You really seem like an alpha to me so that would make three of us, plus one beta, but Mikasa is great after you get to know her so I'm sure we’ll manage!”

Levi’s heart started beating faster. Sure, he could take it as a compliment that Eren thought of him as an alpha, but the whole talk had reminded him of why this was the worst idea imaginable. He pulled up the collar of his shirt and bit down at his lip, becoming more distressed. Why had he let the other one even talk this much? Fucking hell, he should have just rejected him immediately… For all he knew Eren would now think he wasn’t completely opposed to his suggestion, which he was, _of course_ he was, and now the alpha could become even more persistent. No… Levi couldn’t allow that. He gritted his teeth and stood straight.

“No.”

He didn’t catch Eren’s reaction as he didn’t look anywhere towards the alpha. He needed to get out now, right away, before anything else could happen. So the raven turned around and rushed to the door without another word.

“Wait, shit, Levi! I’m sorry I didn’t mean to offen-“ But his apologies were cut short as the door closed behind Levi. If only it would be strong enough to completely cut the brunet ad everything to do with other werewolves out of his life, but the omega knew he wasn’t so lucky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you liked my partly polished trash I'll be over the moon! And if something is confusing or there are typos then please point them out, I'm so bad at this heh! I'll probably change the summary too once I have gained enough brain cells to do so, we'll see. Hope to see you on the next update!


	2. Building tolerance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess this is the first (of many to come) “real” chapters, the first one being more of a prologue. I think I’ll try to aim for  
> 5000ish words from this point onwards. I should note that I wrote this after waking up at 2 am so, quality content right there. ALSO and MOST IMPORTANTLY, thank you for all the love the first chapter already received! I got kudos and comments and I never expected that (I’m a mess of happy emotions honestly, thank you) I hope you guys enjoy this chapter too!

“But Mikasaaaa, I really think he should join!”

His adopted sister just rolled her eyes at him before turning onto another page of her textbook. Eren pouted at the treatment. Once whining like that would have made her ready to do anything for him, but apparently she had grown immune as years went by. It was most likely for the best, but it did make things harder for Eren. Things that right now meant convincing Levi to join the three of them.

“Eren, if he doesn’t want to come meet us you can’t force him. Besides, didn’t he say he was older than us? He’s probably annoyed if he views you as just a "brat".” Armin hummed from his book. How could they read in a dire situation right this? Eren sure as hell couldn’t, it was like all his instincts were screaming at him to do something about the werewolf he had met by chance at Sina Café.

“First of all, his name is Levi, already told you that. And I _know_ I can’t force him, but! I feel like something is gonna happen to him if I don’t get him to join, it’s making me so anxious! Like I really, _really_ , need him to get him join.”

It wasn’t exactly a nice feeling either, the pull he felt towards the raven. It was in the forefront of his mind, hence why he had tried to convince Levi on three successive days – it was hard to think of anything else and Eren couldn’t for the life of him understand why.

“Maybe it really is his presenting, then?” Armin suggested, perhaps to get Eren stop his constant talk about Levi. Even if that was the case, the brunet was none the wiser. “Some present later than others, it’s not unheard off.”

“But it _is_ if he really is older than us, plus he doesn’t have a pack! If he ends up as an alpha, which I’m pretty sure of, I mean, you should hear him, it’s going to be really tough without one! Even if he were to present as a beta. You Armin should know that.” Eren looked at his blond friend demandingly. Surely they’d have to understand his reasoning since they all knew how hard it was without a proper pack. Even if they were together, it wasn’t exactly the same… And Eren was hoping another member would help with that. But most importantly it would help Levi, he knew it would.

The blond sighed a little and nodded. “I really do get your point, Eren, but still… It’s nothing you can force to happen just because you want to. And you already printed out those contact cards just for him, so he has your info now. All you can do at this point is wait.”

“Agreed”, Mikasa finally joined the conversation. Though judging by her tone it seemed more like she ended it with that simple word. “Now for the love of all holy, Eren, please continue studying. It might be the start of term still but if you’re left behind it’s going to be hell and we both know it.”

The brunet groaned loudly in response, but after a while nodded. Eren lifted up his book meekly and started reading through the next chapter. His mind was still plagued by a certain raven though, and he just knew he had to get him to accept his invitation. He _had_ to. The alpha wondered if Mikasa would feel the same pull of the other, or if it was all him and less his alpha instincts. But there was something about Levi that Eren knew he needed to discover, whatever it was. Or else he wouldn’t be able to concentrate on his studies, or anything else for the matter, at all.

…

To give him some credit, Eren didn’t see Levi for the next two days. Which wasn’t for a lack of trying on his part, as he had dropped by Sina each day before his lectures. Levi wasn’t at work during those shifts or was hiding somewhere, but Eren didn’t push it. If he’d ask around he’d seem like a bigger creep and well that just wouldn’t do. But not seeing him made him concerned on an entirely another level. What if Levi was avoiding him? He had left him so suddenly last time… Was it something he had said?

“Hey, earth to Eren” Jean called out and waved his hand in front of his face. “Care to come back to us so we could actually work on this assignment together?”

Eren rolled his eyes in response and swatted his hand away. Jean was just the type of guy that would have infuriated him to no end when he was younger, probably even to a point of fist fighting. But hey, he was a new man now, more mature, so he handled these kinds of situations. Well. Most of the times at least.

“Kay, sorry, was distracted but that doesn’t mean you gotta be a dick.” the brunet hummed and looked back down at the papers. “So, uhh…” Where had they been again? It was their third meeting to work on the project, and they would preferably finish it today. Which wouldn't be easy, at least on his part. Though Mikasa would skin him alive if she knew he was still thinking about Levi, to a point where he couldn’t concentrate on group assignments. It was even the first one of the semester, damn he’d need to get a grip of himself.

“Is everything alright, Eren?” Christa, ever the angel, asked. Even though Eren hadn’t known her for long at all he could already say she was probably the gentlest person he’d ever meet. “You’ve seemed absentminded for a few days now. Is it a rough start for you?”

“No, not really, but thanks for asking!” He smiled at the blonde brightly. She was pretty much exactly like someone one would expect to be on their course. Jean on the other hand… Well, he had explained that having experience in environmental studies came as a plus for future architects, so there he was. Doing coursework with two wildlife conservation and biodiversity majors. Then again, he did remind the alpha of a horse, so he fit right in from that standpoint.

“Okay, great, can we now get back to this? I have other things I was meaning to do today too.” Jean spoke again, annoyance in his tone.

“Actually…” Eren started and then grinned. Yes, this was the perfect plan. If he couldn’t concentrate because of worries about Levi, then he’d have to go and see him! To reassure his instincts and so forth. “I was thinking if we could go to this café? It’s pretty nice, the atmosphere and all, and I think the change of place would help us get forward! Plus the coffee is good too!”

“Sure, I think that’s a good idea. It shouldn’t be too crowded at this hour either.” Christa agreed, smiling. “Is it far away? I’m fine with it if Jean is.”

“Nope, not far at all! Come on horseface, I know you need some caffeine too.”

“For the last time Jaeger…” Jean groaned but started packing his backpack. “Sure, fine, whatever, as long as we get this done preferably asap.”

Eren grinned widely. Perfect! He had such a mastermind in planning, truly. “Let’s go then, I’ll show you the way! Come on!”

Now if only Levi would be present, everything would go great. He wouldn’t even have to talk to him, if only he’d see him and Levi’d see the alpha it would be enough for him. It would raise the other's tolerance for him, and Levi would also see how great he was with others and not a creep at all. Perfect!

…

Sina Café really was godsent. Even if Eren hadn’t met Levi there, it would still have become one of his favourite coffee shops. It was nice and cozy, with a couple of tables literally made for group projects. Sina was close to the university after all, so it was no surprise some tables were arranged that way. Right now there weren’t too many customers, just like Christa had predicted, and it fit right in with the alpha’s plan.

“Okay, let’s sit there shall we?” He smiled at his fellow students and headed towards the back. It was close enough to the register (to get coffee easily and for no other reason at all) but far away enough so that they wouldn’t disturb others too much. The perfect view of the counter was purely coincidental and had nothing to do with Levi. Or at least that’s what Eren told himself.

“Well, it’s definitely not bad... I’m surprised you have an ounce of taste in you, Jaeger, with the way you dress like.”

The brunet gasped at that. “How dare you Kirschtein! I dress like this intentionally and everyone loves me for it. Your lack of taste isn’t my concern.” Eren stuck his tongue out at him. Okay, maybe he wasn’t that mature all the time but hell, he was still a university student, he didn’t care. If someone complained about his beloved Dr. Martens, messy bun or otherwise his “very intentional” aesthetic, they had another thing coming.

“Sure, whatever.” Jean chuckled as he placed down his backpack on the chair in front of Eren’s. “I’ll go order something now, let’s see if you have taste in coffee at least.”

The alpha rolled his eyes at the retort and glanced at the register. “Mm I’ll go order after a while, so I can watch our bags and such.” Right now there was someone other than Levi serving. This guy had black hair too, but his build was different, and that sunny voice couldn’t possibly belong to his grumpy wolf. Wait. Levi wasn’t his, what was he even thinking… Stupid instincts, getting so protective of someone he barely knew.

…

Meanwhile Levi was getting ready for his shift to start. He had managed to avoid seeing the alpha yesterday and the day before that, but he didn’t know how long it would take for his luck to ran out. Perhaps Eren had given up already? One could always hope.

The raven stared at himself from the mirror in the changing rooms. The bags under his eyes had lightened thanks to two alpha-free days, but he still wasn’t on his best condition. At least in the upcoming months it would get colder so wearing high collars would become more “socially accepted”. As if he gave fuck about that anyways. Levi just missed his sweaters with actual sleeves, because wearing ones like that now would get way too hot. 

“Oh, Levi, hi!”

He turned around to look at his co-worker, who had just arrived inside the changing rooms. “Hey Marco, everything going well so far?” Levi asked, sounding genuine with his politeness. Marco was really kind, clearly carved out for this line of work unlike the omega, and he considered them more than just co-workers. Basically, they were in friendly terms but not really friends, not that the taller man hadn’t tried. Levi just had hard time letting anyone close to him, and luckily, Marco understood that and respected his boundaries.

“Yeah, it’s pretty chill. There’s this small group of uni students, but they’re pretty quiet and well behaved and- uhm…” Marco’s freckled cheeks turned soft red, making Levi cock his brow.

“Mhmm, I see.” There was probably some hot guy among them. Bless Marco and his soul, he clearly had liked what he saw. But it’s not like Levi was against looking at some handsome guys. It was nice to watch sometimes, preferably from far away. Beauty should be appreciated anyways.

“Ah, yes! Anyways, Sasha has to leave now too, some apartment viewing I believe, so Hanji will come by earlier than usual.” Marco filled him in while starting to remove his apron. “So... In an hour, actually. You’ll be alone for that long, but since it’s not busy, it’s nothing you can’t handle right? Oh but I can stay behind, too, if you want me to!”

“Thanks Marco, but I’ll be fine.” He hummed to reassure him. It didn’t sound like anything he couldn’t handle. “

“Oh, yes, of course! But.. I think I’ll hang around for just a little while longer, as a customer, just to make sure.”

Levi nodded at his words, though he was quite sure him being the only barista wasn’t the only reason for that. Must be quite the handsome student, huh. “Sure, feel free.” He nodded at him before leaving the room to relieve Sasha of her duties, hoping that it wouldn’t be a huge mess behind the counter. The brunette was very… Loud, and clumsy, but she was new and fucking nothing compared to Hanji, so he managed deal with it.

“Hullo Levi, I’ll make these orders, but can you please take over? Connie can’t handle the apartments by himself!” She laughed, sounding a bit nervous. Levi could relate to that, renting an apartment on your own – or in her case with her... boyfriend? Or where they just best friends? He didn’t remember – wasn’t the easiest.

“Don’t you worry, I can do those too, just go.” There was no line so he could handle those orders. He looked at the receipts. Some really shitty and sugary sweet frappuchino with all the toppings imaginable, and simple chai tea latte. How some people could drink so much sugar in one drink was beyond him. Levi didn’t even like coffee that much, but he’d never willingly order something like that, could it even be called coffee at this stage? Well, at least he wasn’t the one to drink or pay for it.

“Oh god thanks Levi, you’re my saviour! Gotta go!” And just like that, she had disappeared, leaving Levi with the monstrosity of a drink and another one who clearly belonged to someone with actual taste. Just because of that he prepared the tea latte first and the 20-something lady retrieved it immediately. Now to the monster…

“A Frappuchino for Aron!” He called out, frowned, and looked at the name again. Why did he have an awful feeling about this…

“Oh, that must be for me!” 

Obviously Levi should have expected this. University students. Most likely from the nearest university, which just happened to be Trost. The name, wrongly spelled thanks to Sasha. And just… the utterly nasty combination that the coffee was, sounded just like something a certain alpha would order, something he had already ordered from him. Fuck. His. Life.

“Levi! It’s good to see you again, and get my drink made by you too! Last time it wasn’t sweet enough.”

Of fucking course it was the one person he had wanted to avoid at all costs.

“So… How are you?”

The omega wondered for a brief moment if he could just completely ignore him. But again, he was on the clock and the brat was a paying customer, no matter how annoying.

“Good.” Levi hoped his short and borderline rude, considering his tone and gaze, answer would be enough to get rid of the alpha fuck. But it was fool’s hope, as it seemed to only amuse Eren. Maybe he was just always happy? That would be irritating, but less than having him be able to put up with Levi when he was like this. Only very few could, meaning his closest friends Hanji and Erwin, and he did _not_ want to add Eren to that short list. No way in hell.

“Well, I’m glad to hear that! Anyways, I’m here with a couple of course mates, so if we are too loud just come and yell at me or something! I’ll explain it to them, no worries about being polite. I mean, wouldn’t be the first time you’ll yell at me!” He laughed, and it sounded so easy, so… bright and bubbly that Levi couldn’t take it. The raven glanced around the café, begging in his mind for another customer to come and force Eren to retreat to his table. But like hoping, begging seemed to be useless when it came to this alpha.

“Marco said you’re a quiet bunch.” Levi said, just wanting to make the other one stop his talking and laughing and overall merrymaking. It would give him cavities, just like that drink would give Eren. “I doubt I’d need to do that.” And if he would, he’d wait for Hanji to come in to do it for him. It would raise questions for sure, but even Hanji was easier and more pleasurable to handle than Eren.

“Ohh, the guy before you right?” Eren asked and his eyes lit up even more, if that was possible. Levi didn’t appreciate it. Couldn’t the idiot realise he wasn’t exactly enjoying himself here? Then again, it’s not like alphas cared for others or their wellbeing, especially if they were “lower” than them in status. Which Levi, as an omega, was. If one believed such bullshit.

“It’s too bad he left already. Don’t get me wrong, I totally prefer you! Again, in the least creepy way possible. But Jean seemed to be really into him and it was fun to watch, finally got the horseface quiet.”

“Mhmm.” He hummed. He couldn’t sound any less interested, though if this Jean guy was the one Marco was blushing about, it could be interesting. Then again, if Eren called him horseface and the comparison was Eren… Well, he doubted that.

“Yeah! Anyways, gotta get back to work. I’ll come by again once this is finished!” The brunet grinned and held up that disgustingly sweet shame of a coffee. Levi didn’t answer, glad he finally got rid of him. It was most unfortunate, though, that Eren didn’t seem any less insistent. Surely that smile and excitement had to fade sometime, right?

It was only after treating few more customers, Marco included, that he realised what he had thought earlier. In comparison to Eren, it was unlikely there would be another guy hott- better looking than him? What was wrong with him??? That foul thought made him want to hit his head against the cold tile wall of the changing rooms, but as he was still the only worker present, he couldn’t even have that. The end of his shift couldn’t come soon enough…

…

Eren kept glancing at the front ever so often, which didn’t go unnoticed by his companions. Jean grumbled about it, but he was able to ignore that, after all he was a sore loser. It wasn’t Eren’s fault Levi had replaced Marco, who according to horseface “was more handsome and didn’t look like he wanted to murder everyone.” Sure, maybe Levi didn’t have the best expression for customer service, but it didn’t mean he didn’t look fucking good. Was he allowed to think like that? Then again, he could see beauty even if the person wasn’t his type. Like Christa, she was pretty. Just not his type. Though in the context of Levi he definitely should not think about what his type was or wasn’t.

“Come on Jean, let Eren enjoy himself. He at least had the courage to talk to the barista, rather than turning into a stuttering mess.” Christa smiled softly, clearly enjoying the light atmosphere. She practically stunned Eren with two facts.

One, she could be savage? Like, teasing Jean about something like that was Eren’s job, and yet she could do it? Maybe he shouldn’t have thought of her as only sweet.

And two… His and Jean’s situations were completely and utterly different! The horseface had the hots for the earlier barista, while Eren… Well, he had all these instincts and this pull telling him to be with Levi, take care of him and protect him, which had nothing to do with how attractive the other was! It was more like… Brotherly protection, surely, between packmates. Yes that was exactly it.

Except they weren’t packmates as Levi had insisted he didn’t want to be part of any packs, small or otherwise.

The brunet groaned and put his head down on the table in front of him. “It’s not like that Christa…” He muttered barely audibly, hitting his head against the table.

“Uhuh? And is that why you are hiding your blushing cheeks?”

Such a savage when it came to these kinds of things. Eren had misjudged part of her character and was now suffering greatly for it. He looked up at the two of them, pouting. “Not blushing. I just think he’d be a cool friend.”

Even Jean snorted at that. “Cool friend huh. Well, good luck with that, but can we please try to finish to this goddamn assignment already? I want to go home?”

“Neither of us believes that, Kirschtein. You just want to go and say hi to your barista, whose name I may or may not know, before he leaves his own table.” Judging by the shocked, and slightly embarrassed, expression by Jean’s face, it was clear he hadn’t had the guts to even look up at Marco long enough to see his name tag. Now he had something he could hold against the horseface, hah!

“You… When…”

“Levi mentioned it. And I mean, I could tell it to you, but since you insulted my possible future friend, I’m not gonna!”

“You fucking bastard-“

“Oh please, stop. I get it, you both suddenly are into black haired baristas, but like Jean said, we should finish this assignment. There’s not much left and after that we can all go on our separate ways.” Christa was smiling, but there was something behind that smile as well. It reminded him of Armin and his scary smiles, so he immediately got back to work. Who would have known Christa had it in her…

…

It took them another hour before they were finally finished. The project had luckily only taken few easily arranged meetings between the three of them, but Eren had a feeling group assignments wouldn’t go as smoothly in the future. The others started packing up their things. Jean seemed displeased by Marco’s disappearance, but to comfort him Eren told him his name. At least now he had something concrete to dream about, and hey, Eren wasn’t cruel or anything. Of course he’d help his friend – if Jean could be called that already – in need.

“Aren’t you coming?” Christa asked as she pulled her light cardigan on. The alpha shook his head as an answer and gave her a sheepish smile. “Got some other homework and readings I gotta do. Mikasa would kill me if I went home before getting at least some of those done.”

She laughed quietly and nodded. “Next time I want to meet this adopted sister of yours, she sounds fun”

It was Eren’s time to laugh at that. “Sure! If you regard threatening my life as fun.”

“We’ll see about that. Bye Eren!”

“Bye! See you later!” Eren waved after her, the smile staying on his face for a while longer until he had to look down at his textbooks again. Now that the distraction and constant pushing to get their work done was gone, his thoughts were all too free to find their way back to certain werewolf.

Eren looked up at the man in question. He was cleaning some tables while chatting with another barista, a girl with glasses and brown hair up in a messy ponytail. Levi was capable of longer interactions, huh… Maybe the pair of them just were closer to each other?

He grunted and clapped his own cheeks. Of course they were, they were co-workers. Meanwhile Levi and him had only spoken on four different occasions, which more or less ended with the raven either making his way out swiftly or having cornered Eren to leave. And he didn’t mind it, not really… Okay he did, but only because he knew something was off with the other. And he wanted to help!

The raven didn’t seem to want his help though… Maybe it was because he was, by the other’s words, younger than Levi? But surely the age difference couldn’t be more than few years, the raven looked young. The barely there scent was a tell-tale sign of an unpresented werewolf, and presenting happened during adolescence. Presenting late wasn’t unheard of, but still there was something that didn’t sit well in his stomach. There could be all kinds of complications and it was something you needed a pack for to get through. And yet Levi wasn't worried? Eren didn't understand this at all...

Levi _couldn’t_ be a presented beta. His scent simply wasn’t strong enough for that, all the betas of his old pack, Armin and his father included, had smelled stronger than the raven was. And betas did have the weakest scents compared to alphas and omegas, so Levi having presented just didn’t make any sense to him. But then again, why had he reacted like that when the alpha had asked about it?

Eren moved his hands into his hair, messing up his neck bun even more, and groaned out loud. He needed more caffeine and more sugar. Probably something to eat too. And maybe, just maybe he could ask Levi for a longer chat after his shift? The worst the other one could do was kick him out… And that wasn’t anything Eren couldn’t handle.

…

“Ohhhh, cutie approaching at three o’clock!” Hanji exclaimed in an excited whisper, nudging Levi’s side. The raven rolled his eyes, already knowing who it was by the ever so powerful scent of the alpha. He hadn’t remembered werewolves were that bad, or it was because his tolerance against them had weakened as years without other werewolf contact went on. It's not like he could count his own scent as strong, since he was used to it. Or at least, after _that_ he was. If only it had made his sense of smell weaker also...

“All yours.”

“Awwwww but you didn’t even look! Come on Levi this is your chance, go get it tiger!”

He snapped his head towards his so-called friend, eyes furious. “Hanji I swear to god if you say anything to him… Just.. Go fucking take his order. I know his name already anyways, and he is a pain in the ass.”

“Mmmm I dunno man, seems like you want that pain in your ass.” She laughed and patted his shoulder. “No can do, sweetie pie, my mandatory break just started. See you soon and take good care of him!” Hanji grinned, had the nerve to blow a kiss towards him and then left him alone. With Eren standing right on the other side of the counter. For fuck’s sake he’d murder that four-eyed asshole!

But instead of going after Hanji, he took a deep breath and went as far as willing himself to smile before turning around. “Welcome to Sina café, how may I help you?”

That at least seemed to knock the smirk he had expected to be there from Eren’s face. His victory was short lived, though, since the worst happened again. The brat started to fucking laugh.

“Who are you and what did you do to my grumpy Levi?” Eren let out between fits of soft laughter. Levi’s left eye twitched in annoyance. His Levi, huh?? Fucking territorial alphas, always pushing their noses in to other ones' businesses and claiming them as their own. And the brat laughing on top of that too, dear fuck.

“First of all, I’m not yours so get your face out of your ass, Sager, and secondly just let me take your fucking order so we can get on with this.” But Eren seemed to laugh even more after his snapping, what the fuck was going on with this bastard?

“Close, but not quite.”

“Huh?” What on earth was he talking about now? Alphas really had some weird ass minds, it seemed, or maybe Eren was just that weird.

“My last name. It’s Jaeger, not Sager. Did you throw away the business card I gave you? I literally printed them especially for you.”

Something unimaginable happened. Levi felt like his cheeks were heating up. But that was just because of his anger though, and definitely not because of anything else! He hoped Hanji really was at the break room, or else he wouldn’t hear the end of this until his dying days.

“How do you even spell a stupid surname like that.” Levi scoffed and crossed his arms, clearly on defense mode now. 

“J-a-e-g-e-r. Though originally it’s J-a with umlauts-g-e-r. Jäger. The pronunciation is a bit different then, but hey, it means hunter in German! Pretty cool if you ask me, and not stupid at all.” Oh my god this brat was so cheeky… Levi had no idea how he could ever handle that. And he sure as hell hoped he wouldn’t have to!

“Whatever.” It’s not like he was interested anyways. Why had he even asked about something like that? The heat had to be getting to him, screw the weather gods or whatever. It shouldn't even be this warm during autumn, this was just madness… If he'd be lucky, this all would be a weird ass fever dream and he was actually back home. That would explain the familiar scent. Except Levi knew one thing it and that was that fact he would never be so lucky.

Eren snickered a little more and wrote something down on a napkin, bringing the omega back to reality. “Here, you're welcome! Not as professional, but next time you’ll at least know what name to call me by. Or do you prefer Aron Sager? Should I change my name?”

“Sasha misspelled your first name not me- _And_ it doesn’t matter anyways. Just order something so we can both go on with our days.” For all he knew Hanji was spying on them from somewhere and that was precisely the reason he had to cut it short. Which he of course wanted to do as well, didn’t want anything else in the world more than that right then.

…

“So eager to get rid of me? I’m wounded” Eren played it off with a dramatic sigh and hand on his chest for emphasis. He liked this. It seemed like light-hearted teasing, and maybe it wasn’t as light from Levi’s part, but he would call it progress anyways. The other hadn’t even thrown away the napkin yet! Or thrown him out!

“Tch, exactly. But can’t be clearer with that if I want to keep my job.” Levi rolled his eyes in response, but Eren didn’t mind. It seemed to be in his character to be like this, since he had been snappy with his friend too. Wait… that reminded him.

“By the way… Was that other barista your friend? Or…?” Something more perhaps? She had blown a kiss at Levi, after all. Eren’s smile didn’t falter as he asked about that, but for some reason the reminder of the brunette had made him feel uneasy. It wasn’t like she was threat to Levi, though, so he didn’t even know how to explain that with his readymade excuses consisting of his alpha tendencies.

“Hanji? She’s a pain in the ass, but yeah… My friend. Who doesn’t know anything about, you know, and if you dare to mention it to her I’ll break your fingers one by one.” The shorter male’s eyes were shining dangerously and Eren didn’t for a moment doubt the realness of that threat. Damn, so scary… He’d bet Levi would present as an alpha. It was clear from the way he was acting.

“I swear, no wolfie talk to anyone. I know the rules.” He reassured, hands raised up in surrender. Levi’s eyes flashed again but Eren just kept smiling a little. “No one could hear us, don’t worry. I made sure. Speaking of which… Could we honestly talk? I know you don’t owe me anything, but I don’t know if I could let this go without at least some sort of explanation… It’s probably because of the thing that hasn’t happened to you yet, like, I’m worried? How old are you? It’s so late it all is making my, you know, instincts going haywire around you. I just… genuinely want to help in any way I can.” He finished whispering. All the tables that had occupants were by the windows, too far away from them to hear, but still. One couldn’t be too careful with these things.

Levi seemed to think that too. He glanced around and for a fleeting moment looked pained, before his usual expression slipped back in place.  
  


“Listen… I'm turning 21 this year and that's not even the point. You have seriously annoyed me for these past days. I know Hanji will never let this… me, talking to you for this long, without your dumbass even ordering anything.. die down, in an eternity. I might not owe you anything but you sure as hell owe me some peace and quiet, because I have a job to take care of. So as soon as you have ordered another one of those undoubtedly way too sugary shames you call coffee, you will pack your back and leave this café, and me, for today.”

Eren really hadn’t wanted to hear that. He most likely should have expected it, but it still stung to hear.

  
“But.”

The alpha perked up, now looking into those gunmetal eyes that were fixated on him.

“I will contact you. In my own time. When it pleases me and not you, so don’t you dare to get any power trips from this. I am doing this simply for the reason of getting rid of you and for that reason only, so no getting hopes up either. Do you understand, _alpha_?”

The last word was whispered out like a curse and all Eren could do was nod, accepting anything Levi was ready to give him. But it wouldn’t be that easy to _not_ get his hopes up. Levi would contact him, he had promised so. And it took all his self-restraint to not start grinning like an idiot.

“Deal. Now make me one of those sugary goodies so we can both continue our days.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Basically I didn't have anything to do today so I ended up fixing and finishing this chapter and I have no self restraint I can't not post it if it's ready, whoops.. I’m not sure if Eren comes off as too stalker-ish, so apologies for that! He’s just concerned for his fellow wolfie I swear. The two will get closer soon though, so stalking won’t be necessary! I’m not sure if this moving too fast, for Levi at least, but I guess Eren is just that persistent. He grows on you. Like fungi or something. Adorable fungi. Anywayyys, thank you for all the support (it might not be much to others but like I’m shook by it wow) I hope see you on the next chapter!


	3. Bickering and planning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there, it's me, ya boi. I'm finally back! I was struggling with this chapter a bit, trying to figure out how to get it to flow and have the information I had planned in it, without sounding too forced. Not exactly sure if I managed to do it, but hey, this is the best version and I just gotta be happy with that sometimes! Again, not betaed (I think beta-readers are a conspiracy theory anyways) so all mistakes are mine. Hope you like this chapter though!

In hindsight, Levi had made a very poor decision. Accepting the “business” card and then discarding it had been one thing. Accepting Eren’s information for the _second_ time _and_ promising to actually contact him, was another. Maybe he was coming up with a fever. Or some other higher power was involved. But from there his thoughts went to his secondary gender and those fucked up instincts he tried to ignore and there he goes triggering himself. 

“My my, what’s that table done to you?” Hanji asked, amused by Levi’s angry kick. If she weren’t handling a knife, the raven would have kicked her instead, but given the circumstances, it wasn’t the wisest decision. Even if the three of them knew basic first aid, it was still easier to just avoid accidents as much as possible.

“None of your business Shitty Glasses, get back to work”, Levi grunted and continued to set the table. If only it had been Thursday, or Saturday, or virtually any fucking day of the week other than Friday… He could now be home, wallowing in self-pity until his next shift and preparing for it in case of another Eren incident. But no, it was their designated cooking day, a tradition that started once Levi learned he was virtually the only one of the three of them with any cooking skills at all. And even his skills were below average. And thus, the Friday Cook-Up was born. Called FuCk Up, for short. Hanji still giggled whenever the name was mentioned, even though she had been the one to suggest that idiotic name.

“Ahhhhh, but I don’t understand! You got the cutie’s number and name and all, what stick could be up your ass now?”

“Cutie’s number?” Erwin repeated, turning around from the stove to face them with lifted eyebrows. “You got someone’s number again, huh?”

“Not just someone’s! Apparently, this dreamy man has tried to woo Levi earlier too! I wish I had been there to see it… But thankfully I could witness this one! He was blushing, Erwin, blushing!!”

“No the fuck I was not!”

“You totally were, sweetie, it was so cute!”

“Come here you bitch and I’ll show you just how cute I can be you fuc-!”

“The soup is done so how about you finish setting the table Levi and you, Hanji, finish slicing up the avocado”, Erwin added himself into the conversation before it would turn into a full-blown fight in his kitchen. He was smiling, but the omega knew better than to trust the honesty behind it. The blond would be a hell of a lawyer when he’d graduate, Levi was sure of that. Hence why didn’t complain as did as he was told.

“Did you remember to taste test it?” He asked after finishing it. For someone who had born into wealth, Erwin hadn’t needed to learn to cook before moving away from home. It had been fun to watch such a genius not know anything about it, but he really was getting better. The taco soup the three of them had made smelled delicious, but still, it was better to check. One time he hadn’t and Hanji had served them something so revolting it couldn’t be called food. How she managed to make drinks at work Levi could never fathom, considering her abysmal cooking skills.

“Mmm, yeah it was good. The crème fraîche is still in the fridge, and the cheese too, so can you get them?”

“Sure”, Levi answered and watched Hanji on the way to the fridge. At least she knew how to handle knives, which for a future pathologist was indeed needed. How had he managed to make friends with two (one) smart people (Hanji’s case was debatable)? Maybe he should enroll in a university too… But Levi knew it was a fool’s hope.

He hadn’t had the money to do that earlier, and even though he was getting paid regularly now, it would take a long ass while before he could afford it. Once Erwin had learned of this, he had suggested he could cover it. That Levi could pay back in time, or that he could at least pay off the interest in a possible student loan. Levi had dismissed all options and said he was fine with his current employment. Which sure, was true, but it also wasn’t something he yearned to do. Hell, Levi was probably as far away from the perfect customer service worker as one could be, but he did try.

Well, it was no use worrying about it now. Levi joined the two at the table and placed the missing items on the table. They garnished up their soups in comfortable silence and got to it. For something relatively simple it was delicious, and Levi was proud of them.

“Hnnnn, damn this is good we are so good”, Hanji moaned, which was something Levi never wanted to hear again. “You should choose the recipe next time too, Erwin.”

The blond shook his head. “Your turn, you need to do it. And actually do more than just cut up the vegetables.”

“Ha, see, he agrees with me!” Levi smirked at the pouting brunette. Sure, part of him was scary what kind of concoction Hanji would come up with, but she did need to learn to cook at some point. It was the whole reason for FuCk Up after all.

“Ugh, but seasoning is so hard… I never know what to add in or what it lacks or whatever”, She complained but then filled her mouth with a spoonful of deliciousness. Levi rolled his eyes.

“Of course you won’t know if you don’t get any fucking practice!”

“I just follow the recipe. If it lacks something, it’s usually as easy as adding more salt, pepper or, I don’t know, soy sauce?” Erwin reassured her and patted her back, ever the father of their group. Which was weird to think about, yew. They thought of Levi as the mom, as it had come up in a drunken conversation, and honestly Hanji was the child but still.

“Mmm I’ll remember that next time! Nooooow shall we go back to the discussion of Levi’s loverboy?” Hanji grinned, making Levi shudder with disgust.

“What the fuck Hanji? Eren’s not a fucking loverboy or anything like that! Just some… Idiotic brat of a customer. Nothing more!” Levi spat out immediately, which turned out to be a big mistake. Not as big as promising to contact the alpha, but almost. That shine in Hanji’s eyes never meant anything good for anyone.

“Eren, is he now… Mhmm...” she hummed oh so innocently, that bastard. Levi should strangle her, but his bowl of soup would fall from that and it’d be a waste of good soup.

“I swear to god Hanji you get any fucking weird ideas like contacting him at the café or at school and I will-“

“He goes to Trost?? Oh my god this is just perfect, Erwin, we need to find him! What does the dream man study, munchkin?”

The omega had to remind himself that hitting his head on the table also wouldn’t be a great idea, considering spilled soup and all. Then again, it was Erwin’s kitchen, but he’d be the one to clean it anyway so that it’d be up to his standards. What had he gone and done…

“Oh my fucking god I’m just going to stay silent for the rest of the evening…”

“Well, to be fair you should have known better than to mention anything about him if you didn’t want this to happen”, Erwin chuckled, way too smug to Levi’s liking. Maybe friends were overrated? Surely they shouldn’t enjoy his suffering this much?

“Mmm, I wonder what Eren studies… If I found him, I’ll be sure to give him some pointers to win over your dark little heart!”

“God strike me dead right now...” Levi pleaded, but it was no use. These two would never let him see the end of this topic.

…

As usual, Levi was the one to clean the kitchen while Erwin loaded the dishwasher and Hanji packed up the leftovers. They bid their goodbyes before parting ways, Erwin staying inside and Hanji taking an Uber to her apartment. Levi, as usual, started walking. The crisp night air was enough to clear his head, and it was otherwise nice too. Now if only the stars were visible… It was one of the rare things he missed of his old home.

The raven arrived at his new home half an hour later, taking off his leather jacket and scarf. It was relatively late, but he didn’t have a morning shift tomorrow, so it was fine. Not like he’d get that much sleep anyways. Perks of being a fucking wolf, Levi thought sarcastically in his head as he removed his shoes. As if there weren’t enough of those already. Sure, he could live without changing, had managed to do that for years now. But the restlessness that came with it, especially during full moons or his heat cycle sucked so fucking much. Levi couldn’t remember when he had last gotten a full 8 hours of sleep. Could Eren sleep well?

He slapped his own cheek. “Get it together, Ackerman.” Of course the bastard could sleep well, he probably changed consistently and his own pack and whatever. He wouldn’t suffer like Levi did, or else he’d hate the wolf in him as much as he did. And it didn’t matter anyways, because Eren didn’t matter to Levi in the slightest, and he shouldn’t even be thinking about the fucker in the dead of night!

“Fuck’s sake…” Levi murmured and made his way to his small bedroom. It was the reason this apartment was much, much better than his first one. Being able to block all the disgusting scents of bodily fluids and heat away after the excruciating week was the minimum to keep his sanity. Earlier he couldn’t get away from it at all, which lead to his… breakdown, or whatever the fuck it should be called. And even though know the scent of heat itself was much weaker, the isolated room was godsend.

Which reminded him of the doom that would come way too soon for his liking. According to his calendar, it’d take about a week and a half before it, so he should “schedule” his “visit to his hometown” he went to every three months. That’s what he told his boss and friends, anyways. As id Levi would willingly set foot in that dingy old town ever again, just the thought of that made him shudder. Fucking yew…

Well, at least Levi had gotten away from there. His life was going great now, he had a decent job, a place to call home, and surprisingly good friends. His scent and pheromones were almost non-existent to a point even an alpha couldn’t pick up on them, and his heats were mostly manageable for now. Everything was okay, everything was good, everything was even great compared to how his life had been. It was his mantra. The reason Levi had survived this far. And if it only weren’t for Eren fucking Jaeger, he could continue on like this for the rest of his life.

…

“You’re pouting again, Eren", Mikasa noted, not at all breathless from the long hike they were taking. Exercise was necessary to keep the wolf in them stated during times they couldn’t change freely, which is why they were outside now, kilometers away from the city with a certain café and a certain barista.

“I’m not...” He denied, shaking his head. The alpha was just thinking, that was all! Of Levi. And his promise. And sure it had been only two days since then and Levi had promised to contact him on his own terms and time, but what if something had happened to him while Eren wasn’t there? He could have even presented in two measly days and the brunet wouldn’t even know that, because Levi hadn’t messaged him yet and his supposed "friends" hadn’t let him go to Sina!

“It’s been two days and you really shouldn’t harass him if you don’t want to seem like a creep.” Armin patted his back with an understanding smile. “And nothing has happened, you are just paranoid. Remember that.

“But I’m not! Something must have happened to him!” Eren insisted and stopped on his tracks in protest. “I have to go back. Like, right now.”

“Yeah, no chance in hell Eren.” Mikasa rolled her eyes. Honestly, she should have stayed as an overprotective sister for forever! But ever since he presented as an alpha, she had figured he could take care of himself and Eren had suffered of this ever since that day when he was 15 years old.

“Oh come on, you’d feel the same way if you just agreed to meet him! You’re an alpha too!”

“Yes, but not _the_ alpha of this pack. And even if I were, I wouldn’t annoy an unpresented guy to a point the only way he’d get rid of me was to promise and contact me at a later time.”

“Which is not what Levi is doing!” Armin was quick to reassure before Eren would lose his calm even more. “He just needs time, come on, it must be hard for him… He said he has survived without a pack for long already, so… Accepting it again must be a challenge. Just give him the time he needs to do it.”

Eren huffed and kicked a stone away from the path. He understood that, of course, but it didn’t reassure him one bit. Maybe if Levi had given him his number… Wait, no, he probably would have contacted him right away. Which might have annoyed the raven even more. Maybe he should have given it to Armin for safekeeping?

“Come on Eren, let’s race to the top of this hill.” Mikasa challenged him, which as usual, worked to get him all hyped up again.

“Oh you’re on sis!”

“Yeah, let’s just all ignore Armin here, great, let’s race, this small beta surely can keep up with you...” The blond muttered as the others left him behind. At least Eren was elated and could forget about his worries for a moment.

…

“You… Cheated..!” Eren gasped out as they reached the top, having arrived just after Mikasa. She smiled at him, clearly proud of her victory.

“It's because you've been slacking”, She chuckled and sat down on a rock, knowing it would take some time for Armin to reach them.

“Not everyone can use the school’s gym as they please and have a training programme approved by a professional! And! I was distracted anyways.” This wasn’t really true, considering he had just enjoyed the thrill and not thought about Levi at all.

Mikasa raised her eyebrows and removed her backpack, taking out her water bottle. “The gym pass is so cheap, you could easily get it”, She reminded him as she opened the cap and started drinking.

  
“Maybe, but I don’t want to spend that much time at school. And I’m doing well anyways, I mean, look at my abs, gorgeous, simply gorgeous.”

“Eren I know how they look like, and I have seen loads better. Ones being my own.”

“Ugh well you suck so it doesn't count”, He groaned and gulped some fresh water down. Maybe he wasn’t in as peak physique as he could be, but he had no complaints. Eren had other things to concentrate on anyways. Levi being one, for example, though he had known him only for a week now so he couldn’t use him as an excuse in this context. Whatever.

“Sore loser. By the way, you replied to mom’s text yet?”

“Oh shit yeah, I forgot.” Eren hoped to god she wouldn’t kill him. Carla was worried of all three of them, and she could be so damn scary too. Not surprising considering she was an alpha who had once lead their pack ferociously before his birth. She was a fierce woman and one Eren knew to respect, even if she hadn’t been his mother, and fear. He took out his phone and opened his messages.

**mom**

How has everything gone this week? How about your first group assignment? Your dad has been busy at work but otherwise everything is fine, I hope that’s the case there too! 11:23 

“Do I have to answer her? I feel like she can sense my lying”, Eren muttered, not really knowing what to say.

  
“Everyone can sense your lying, you have such obvious tells.” Mikasa shrugged, smirking a little.

“I do not! But what are they?”

“Not telling. Besides, it’s literally a text message, how would mom know?”

“I don’t know how… But I know she would…” Eren stared at the screen for a while, hoping for a message from an another wolfie. “You replied her yet?”

“Of course, always do so right away after seeing it. Unlike other certain individuals.”

“Ha ha.” Sometimes Eren felt like the women in the Jaeger household were against him. And his dad didn’t really do anything about it, damn him. He was left out to be chewed by intense alphas! “What did you say anyways? Like… Does she know already?” Knowing that would help his dilemma. If she did know, it’s not like lying would work… But Eren really didn’t want to talk about it…

“Mmm, not telling- Oh, finally! Hey Armin!”

“Oh… Fuck.. you… guys…” The blond panted as he reached the pair of them. “So unfair… Genetics against me, I’m small either way, so unfair… Leaving the weakest part of your pack just behind like that!”

Eren smiled at that and slipped his phone back into his pocket. “You’re not the weakest, Ar, with that mind you could outsmart anyone and get yourself out of all kinds of messes.”

“Can’t still run away from those messes! Now get me some water, I’m dying, I’m not used to this why did I even agree to come with you…”

Eren gladly offered the smaller man water, and then they enjoyed their day together, Levi forgotten for now.

…

“Oops, sorry Levi! I’ll go get the cleaning supplies asap!” Sasha yelped after managing to make a mess somehow. Levi’s brow twitched in annoyance, but he waved it off, letting her clean it up. She was still new, and again, nothing compared to Hanji. Levi could handle anyone else other than another Hanji. Or a fucking brat. Anyone but that.

Levi knew that technically he could just ignore Eren. He could break his promise, never message him, and if he’d come over just let another barista serve him. Hell, he could go as far as going to his boss about it, explain about the harassment and Eren would be denied access to the building. It would be easy and Levi could forgot all about him and other werewolves and go on with his life like he had been. Simple as that

Except it wasn’t. For one, it wouldn’t leave his conscience clear. Eren was relentless in his attempt to “help” Levi, but it didn’t sound like he was inherently a bad guy or a creep or anything of the sort. Just… An alpha. And Levi had dealt with those for most of his life, and considering those others, the brunet didn’t seem terrible at all. A part of him felt like he could… Trust him, come clean and just… accept his own nature. And that just fucked him up, because of course he couldn’t do that, what was he thinking? He had to be getting sick…

Levi had vowed he’d stay away from all werewolves, especially alphas. And he shouldn’t, even for the shortest moment, consider Eren as an exception to that rule.

And he didn’t, honestly. Even if they were to meet and talk, it would end with Levi sending Eren away, having made clear he wasn’t in no way interested in pack life. He’d explain and reason it as much as it was needed for the brunet to understand, so that he would _finally_ give up and let Levi live his life as he wanted. Or, well, as he wanted in the limits his body was giving him. Oh the be normal human and not have to worry about any of this…

“Iced mango tea for Anne”, he called out after finishing the order. The customer came, took it, thanked him, and left. Thankfully the last incident with a customer (other than Eren of course) had been a while ago, keeping Levi satisfied with his place of employment. Entitled assholes were the worst, and sometimes he wondered if some customers even saw him as a human. Not that he fully was one, considering the werewolf gene that fucked up his whole life, but that was beside the point. He knew another customer like that would come again and make him want to quit on point, self-control being the only one keeping his job in those times. Wasn’t customer service wonderful.

  
“Sasha, I’ll be taking my break now”, he informed her once she was finished cleaning. She hadn’t done the best job, but well, the raven was the one to close up and do the final cleaning today anyways. Along with the mess that was Hanji Zoe. At least there was few hours before her shift were to start.

“Sure thing! Uh, if something happens, is it okay if I call for you?” She looked a little nervous to be left alone when it was somewhat busy, though Levi trusted her well enough to let it happen.

“Yeah, course. You’ll be fine though”. he attempted to reassure her and headed to the break room.

Levi put the kettle on before sitting down in his favourite chair in the room. He didn’t mean to eat yet, not so hungry, so tea would do. He fetched his phone from his pocket, glancing through the news idly. Only to find a message from none other than his lovely and not at all annoying friend.

**Four eyes**

Yo gonna run a bit late, gotta finish this paper. Gonna help you with cleanup tho!17:05

**Me**

As if I’d let you do that 17:38

**Four eyes**

so mEaaAaAAn! I’ll clean and meanwhile u can dream bout Eren~ 17:42

Levi sat down again once he heard his phone vibrate. He cringed at the mere thought of Hanji’s skills in cleaning and sipped his tea just to calm himself down. But should the thought about “dreaming of Eren” disgust him more? No, Hanji’s cleaning was the worst, it was okay to cringe just at that.

**Me**

Only if hell freezes. Just get your ass here as soon as you can 17:43

I’ll clean you take care of rest 17:43

+I’ll get to choose the next movie we watch 17:43

**Four eyes**

fiiiiiiiiine 17:44

suppose you can clean and dream at the same time 17:44

funny how u didn’t comment about eren dreams mmmm~ 17:45

Levi took a deep breath after reading Hanji’s last message. She was just teasing and murder was illegal, Erwin wasn’t a full lawyer yet so he couldn’t get him out of one, better just to let it be for now.

**me**

Just write your fucking paper and get your ass here 17:48

**Four eyes**

Aye aye captain! ;) 17:50

And so his precious break was disturbed and practically destroyed with Hanji. Not that he minded her being late, he understood, but that fucking comment about Eren…

Maybe Hanji thought she was doing him a favour by trying to get him laid, except he didn’t want that, what the hell, and definitely not with Eren. Absolutely not. Or maybe she knew how he actually felt and was tormenting him? No, she might be shitty glasses but not a shitty friend. Levi really shouldn’t doubt his friends, considering he had only two, and most importantly he knew he could trust them. But this whole debacle with three new werewolves in the city was making him troubled. Perhaps he should just meet with Eren to get this all over and done with?

That would be the easiest and cleanest way to go on about this. If only he didn’t feel like it would be another one for the all too victorious and smug alpha.

…

The three werewolves in question were all huddled up in their shared living room, watching a movie while curled up close. Proximity and touch was important in packs, especially when their own was so small and more like “just” a family than a pack. But Eren didn’t mind, or wouldn’t mind at all, as soon as Levi would agree to join them.

“Why the heck are we watching this?” The brunet asked, frowning at the screen. Documentaries didn’t count as movies in his opinion, but it had been Armin’s choice this time, so here they were.

“Shhh, it’s interesting, you just lack the brains to understand it”, The blond shushed him dismissively.

“Rude”, Eren grumbled and placed his chin on his knees. History was interesting, sure, but it could have at least been a nature documentary. Could have helped him with his degree even! But nooo, apparently one needed to be knowledgable on different fields of science or whatever.

“I second Ar”, Mikasa whispered quietly, hugging the beta with her other hand while her other was around Eren’s back.

“Why do you guys always gotta join up and go against me…”

“Builds character. Honestly, you should be used to rejection by now, why aren’t you handling Levi better?” Armin wondered out loud, earning a glare from both Eren and, to his surprise, from Mikasa.

“We weren’t supposed to talk about him, we are watching a movie now and that’s it”, she said sternly. “Sunday is a free day, time for us to keep our wolves happy, and not to worry about everything.”

“No, let’s talk about Levi! Which reminds me!” Eren turned to glare at his adopted sister instead. “Just tell me what you told mom, please. If there’s any chance I don’t have to mention Levi until he has joined I need to grab it.” He pleaded.

“No can do, already mentioned it. Now shut up, it’s getting to the interesting part.”

Eren groaned out loud at that and closed his eyes. “Fucking hell…” Well, that chance flew out of the window as easily as that. He didn’t know why he was so against telling his own mother about it… Though maybe it had to do with the worry that Levi wouldn’t agree to join? Maybe his alpha pride couldn’t handle rejection and humiliation like that? But then again, he knew there was something different to it too… Something… He couldn’t put his finger to it, but he knew it was there. Could the brunet ask about that from his mom? Would Carla understand?

Better not, at least not yet… He thought but pulled his phone out anyways. Mom would have his head already for not answering for so long. Eren shouldn’t let her have a reason to take his other body parts as well.

But something caught his attention before he could reply to her. A message from an unknown number. And there was only one person it could be from.

**(xxx-xxx-xxxx)**

Have some things to take care of next weekend and week after that, doubt you’d leave me alone for so long. When are you free to meet? 18:00

Eren couldn’t contain his grin. Levi had actually messaged him! He felt like he could do anything now, like… Go outside and dance naked on the streets! Or climb up a lamp post! Kiss a police officer on the cheek! Which he already had done once, so maybe he shouldn’t do it again. Mikasa and mom, even dad and Armin would kill him then. But still! His excitement couldn’t be contained!

**me**

Morning classes on mon and wed, full day thursday, tuesday only one lecture at noon and friday morning and noon are full :) 20:35

The alpha received his reply after some while. Mikasa and Armin had been concentrating on the documentary so they hadn’t paid him much mind, but the excited yell of “Fuck yes!” brought their attention to him.

“Eren, what in the actual fuck?” Mikasa asked, eyes narrowed and stance otherwise irritated.

“He agreed!”

“What? For real?” Armin seemed surprised but delighted as well. Of course he would be, they were possibly getting a new member to their pack!

“Yep!” Eren grinned and went to the messaging app to actually “read” the message and to reply to it.

**Levi**

Tuesday’s free for me. Does after your class sound good? 20:43

**me**

Sounds perfect :D! Let’s meet in front of Sina at 13:15? 20:47

**Levi**

Sure. See you then, brat 20:50

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We finally have a time for their "meeting"! Which will happen in the next chapter, so we get some real, unfiltered talk between the pair of them. I hope to get it done asap because school is starting and then I need to concentrate on that and my last finals so I could actually graduate, sooooo chapters might be late. Or very frequent, depending on my procrastination levels lol. See you on the next update!


	4. The Talk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eeeeh long time no see! Like I said, school started, so I guess I'm gonna use that as an excuse for how long it took to upload this chapter. My humblest apologies! Good thing is that after 20 days my finals will all be over and forgotten, lol, so I'll have more time to write! Yay for that! And yay for all the lovely comments and the kudos and hits I received, I can't honestly believe it <3 Butttt without further ado, enjoy your reading! This chapter is a bit shorter, as I had to cut it in two, but it's still an update so I'm proud xD Hope you like it!

To say Eren was excited would be an understatement of the year. He couldn’t quite concentrate on his lecture, even less than before, which was saying something considering he had had troubles ever since first seeing Levi. But today those troubles would come to an end! Levi would hear all the perks of joining and they’d have a happy ending to this dilemma, for sure.

The professor dismissing the students brought him back to reality. Eren couldn’t stop grinning as he packed up his backpack, swinging it over his shoulder. His giddy mood wasn’t left unnoticed by Christa. The alpha shouldn’t be late, though, so he just smiled at her questioning look and mouthed a quick ‘later’ before leaving. Levi seemed like someone who appreciated tardiness, so Eren really should hurry. His carefully bullet-pointed list shouldn’t go to waste! At first, he had wanted to make a whole ass PowerPoint, but according to both his friends that’d be too much, so he had ditched the idea. Then again, maybe he should have made one, just in case… Maybe Levi would appreciate that kind of dedication from hopefully his future pack’s alpha.

Eren didn’t have time to craft a presentation like that now though, so instead he just made his way to the café. To his surprise, a certain grumpy man was nowhere to be seen. It was odd… But not unwelcome. Now he had time to prepare himself, and get them both coffee. Yeah, coffee sounded perfect now. And there was a perfectly good café right next to him, so really, what else could he even do while waiting for Levi.

It wasn’t quite the time for after-school and -work rush, but business seemed to still be booming. Eren recognized a couple of faces from university, but there were no actual acquaintances of his, therefore leaving him free to get to the register immediately. There were two brunettes behind it, the less familiar one tending a customer while the one he knew by name was free.

“Oh, hi! You’re Levi’s friend, right? I’m Eren! I don’t know if he has mentioned me though…” Wait, would this seem like those times when creeps came to ask for people’s shifts so they could attack them after that? Fuck, Eren definitely didn’t want to seem like a case like that. Luckily the woman smiled at him widely, vigorous nodding making her messy ponytail swing from side to side.

“Oh I know who you are! What can I get for you, Mr. Handsome? I have to take your order as Levi isn’t on shift today, I’m afraid.”

Eren blushed lightly at the nickname. Uh oh. How did you tell someone you were gay without outright blurting it? His expression seemed to be transparent enough, though, as Hanji just laughed and shook his head.

“Didn’t mean it like that, honey, so no need to worry! We don’t want you to get as wrinkly from all those worries like a certain friend of ours, now do we? Anyways, what can I get you, Eren dear?”

“Actually, I was wondering… What does Levi like to drink? We are meeting soon and I thought I could buy him something in advance, but then I realised I don’t even know what he likes and… Basically I don’t want to buy him he doesn’t like, you know?”

“Oh? You are gonna meet? How did you get Levi to agree to it? Oh my god this is the scoop of the century… Tell you what, if you come by tomorrow evening to tell me _everything_ , those drinks will be on the house, _and_ I’ll make Levi’s favorite tea.”

Was Levi really that antisocial? Eren had thought it was just with him, but this new information made him feel even prouder of the upcoming meet-up. If Levi was giving him special treatment then surely it meant he would join them!

“Ah, no, I insist on paying, but if you could make his favourite I’d owe you. And I’d like to have a double caramel Frappuccino, with whipped cream, chocolate swirls and cookie crumbles. Oh, and does Levi like some of your pastries especially? I’d like to have a couple of those to go as well!”

“You got it, sweetie”, Hanji hummed as she rang that up. “That’d be 14,30, thank you, and Levi’s favorite drink is a simple Earl Grey, or London Fog Latte if he is feeling adventurous. He also likes our blueberry muffins. I got him the Earl Grey this time to be on the safe side”, She explained with a grin and accepted the 20 bill he gave her.

“Thank you! Here’s your change and receipt, and I’ll call you up once your order’s ready.”

“Got it, thanks Hanji!” Eren smiled at her widely and placed the change into the tip jar. She for sure deserved it, after helping him out so much.

…

Levi was late and he knew it. There was no need to take longer routes to Sina, only to turn around and start walking back home midway through, except there was a dire need to do that. He didn’t exactly want to see Eren today, or on any other given day for the matter. But they had agreed on this date, and besides, it was better to get it over with as soon as possible. Just rip off the band-aid and get on with his normal life. That thought was probably the only reason he arrived in front of the café where Eren was already waiting for him.

“Sorry”, Levi grunted without giving any explanations. He was a bit surprised Eren was there already, even though he himself had been late, but still. Alphas usually weren’t on time.

“No worries!” The other exclaimed with that way too fucking bright on his face. Then he held up the paperback, while his other hand was full with two drinks. “Got us something to eat and drink! Where do you wanna go? You probably know this city better than I do.”

Levi eyed the snacks suspiciously but didn’t comment on them. Though if he’d have to guess, Eren had probably just ordered two of those diabetes bombs and some super sugary snacks on top. He could already practically feel his veins clogging up, yew.

“Yeah, I know a place. It’s a bit of a walk away, so let’s go”, he muttered and started walking back the way he had come from. It was a cloudy day, perfect for his gloomy mood, and Levi would have loved to spend it alone. Maybe go on a run or something. Not worry about alphas and wolves and have to meet one on top of those worries. It was a complete waste of a good day, in his opinion.

Eren jogged a few steps so that he’d be right by his side. “I don’t mind the walk! It’s good to keep in shape, especially for us wo–“

“No. Don’t mention any of that yet.” Levi stopped him and glared up at the brunet. Sure there weren’t many people on the streets, and even if there were, who would believe them, but even so. Levi didn’t want to take any chances. And he definitely didn’t want to talk about it any more than he absolutely had to. Fuck this whole ordeal was already giving him a headache.

“Ah, of course, sorry! Hmm, can we talk about something else then? I’d like to get to know more about you, of course, but if you don’t want to, I can start!”

Levi definitely didn’t want to, nor did he want to listen to Eren ramble about his undoubtedly perfect life. Maybe he should just block it all out as he had done during their first meeting?

“Just do whatever the fuck you want…” He whispered under his breath, partly hoping Eren would take the fucking hint and not do it. But of course, the alpha was too daft to understand, or maybe just too stubborn, and started to talk about his day. His day, honestly? As if Levi cared jack shit about his professor’s monotone lecturing, or some Christa’s (was it the blondie he had studied with? Or the beta in his stupid pack?) “angelic help”, or some horseface’s pouting because apparently, he hadn’t managed to catch Marco at work again? Levi couldn’t care less. And yet he was still listening to every word Eren said.

…

“We’re here”, he announced as they got to the park. It was one of the older ones near the city, so many didn’t go there, at least from what Levi had gathered from his regular runs there.

“Ohh, cool! I’ve never been here!” Eren gasped as he looked around the place while sitting down on the bench. Then the bastard brat had the nerve to pat the space next to him while smiling that stupid smile. “Ah, and here’s your drink!”

Levi rolled his eyes as he sat down somewhat reluctantly, taking the cup that was offered to him. Maybe he could just… Pretend to drink it? Though then again, he didn’t care about Eren’s feelings, so why spare them. But as he lifted the cup to his lips the familiar aroma filled his nostrils. Too surprised to take a sip, he turned his gaze back to the brunet.

“It’s black tea.”

Eren chuckled, placing his own cup down to his lap. “Glad you noticed! I asked Hanji what you liked, cuz last time you eyed my frappuchino like it had killed someone, so I assumed you probably don’t have the same taste as me. Mmm, and there’s blueberry muffins in the bag! Hanji said you liked those too!”

So Eren had now met Hanji, wasn’t that fucking fantastic. Shitty Glasses would never forget him, nor forget to torment Levi about him. But he supposed he could… appreciate the surprisingly nice gesture. Maybe some alphas didn’t do all the choosing for others.

“Well it might not have killed anyone yet, but it will kill you one day… Diabetes is no joke”, he muttered to get away from saying thanks. As if he’d thank an alpha. But his response caused Eren to laugh some more, so he probably didn’t even realise the lack of a thank you.

“Ah, it sure isn’t but I’m a big boy with fast metabolism, and I exercise a lot so it isn’t a problem! No need to worry about me, mom’s already worried enough. You’ll probably get along with her, though, and she’d be happy to hear someone’s trying to keep me on my toes! Mikasa and Armin have mostly given up with my sugar addiction.”

“Wait, fuck, Eren, stop.” Levi shouldn’t let this nonsense continue any longer. He looked up at the alpha, his expression stern. “There’s no way I would… get along with your mom or… keep you on your toes or anything like that, because nothing will come out of-“ he motioned to the space between them “this. Nothing, you understand? I… I promised to meet with you so that I could make it crystal fucking clear, that I won’t join your pack.”

There, he said it. And honestly, Eren should have seen it coming, and yet the look on the alpha’s face turned from surprise to sombre. “I… But Levi, you have to understand… It’s probably really hard for you! And, and I know you have survived this long and I know you don’t think you need us, and I believe you! I really do! You really are strong, having survived for, I don’t know, as long as you have, without other wolfies near you. But… A pack is something sacred to us, and I can’t imagine surviving without it or anyone else for a month, maybe two, I’d go crazy. But you somehow did survive that, which honestly makes you much stronger than I, but… Uh… Wait, I did have a point, or several, actually, give me a second.”

He fumbled through his pockets, searching for something, before pulling out… A piece of paper?

“Ah, here it is… Okay, so, I made a list of pros and cons of joining our pack, or just, coming hang out with us every once in a while, I really think that’d be good too. Uhm…” He cleared his throat before continuing with a more confident tone of voice. “Just hear me out, please?”

Levi really shouldn’t listen. Just zone it out, Ackerman! Get a fucking grip and kick the other if he doesn’t give up! But he couldn’t do that. His fucking nature wouldn’t let him, as fucked up as that it was. Though maybe there was something else to it too, no, there wasn’t. His stupid omega senses were just flaring up, and he didn’t give a fuck about those. So he stopped Eren on point three.

“No. Fuck, this was a bad idea. I never even played with the idea of joining you so your alpha selling speech is useless, there’s no way. I have survived just fine for literal years, so just… Give up. Just fucking give up and let’s forget we ever even met because that’s what I need, not a pack, you got me you fucking brat?”

But instead of doing that, Eren leaned forward and wrapped his arms around him. Levi tensed immediately, his heart starting to beat faster. No… The alpha was too fucking close… The sheer power of that scent and pheromones around him should have paralysed him from absolute disgust, but instead… That anxious feeling melted away…

“Fuck, Levi, I didn’t realise… Years? Oh my god, fuck, shit, now I regret not finding you earlier… I’m so sorry…” Eren whispered fast, not letting go of him. He was so close Levi could smell literally everything. Some citrus scent from his shampoo, probably, caramel and chocolate from that monstrosity of a drink and some very artificial laundry detergent. But even stronger than those was the mix of scents that came from the alpha himself. Forests, that had been left untouched for years, dark chocolate… Maybe it wasn’t from his drink after all. And above all else… Fucking hell, of course this damn alpha had to smell of fucking tea, Levi was so done with alphas, why did this even happen…

“Let me go…” He hated how silent and weak he suddenly sounded like, so… Submissive. The way Eren had practically ambushed him with his hug had unraveled something inside of him and he couldn’t deal with this, fuck, not fucking now. “Eren. Now. Let me go!” Levi repeated, trying his all to put more bite into his words.

And it worked. Eren pulled back, eyes wide in shock. “Oh, sorry… Levi I didn’t realise, fuck, I really fucked up didn’t I…” He groaned out and placed his hands over his face.

Levi neither confirmed nor denied the fuck up, staying quiet and looking away, at anywhere but the alpha. It’s not that he was touch starved or anything… He had learned to live without others, and after Erwin and Hanji had come to his life, he had been “abused” with plenty of surprise hugs from the latter’s part. But they were human, not fucking werewolves, not fucking alphas of all people on this planet. And he just… Couldn’t deal with that at all.

“I really am sorry, Levi… That was shitty of me to do. Honestly, this all probably has been super shitty for you and I am sorry for that. I shouldn’t have any excuses, it’s just my… I don’t know, my instincts have gone on a field trip when it comes to you.”

That piqued his interest. Levi turned to look at Eren, surprised to hear it was so. Could it be that… Eren, despite being clearly buddies with the wolf in him, disliked some of his instincts? But how could that be, the other one was literally “a perfect alpha”. Sometimes, on the small hours of the night, Levi wondered would he had been different had he been an alpha. Would he hate being a werewolf any less? Sure, his life would have done a full 180 from the moment of his presenting, but could it really affect so much? Well, he’d never know that. Unless Eren would shed some light on the matter.

Said alpha let out a sad sound, a mock of a chuckle. “Just a stupid excuse, really. I know I can’t blame my instincts, because I chose to act on them. But… There’s just something about you I can’t explain. A pull I feel towards you and it’s honestly making me crazy...” Eren sighed, looking up at the grey clouds. For the first time he looked more mature, but somehow that solemn expression didn’t fit his face as much as his usual shitty smile did.

“I… In a way, I do understand that”, Levi spoke, to Eren’s and to his own surprise. “You’re the alpha of your pack. You hear someone you want to join it has been… without one, for years, so your instincts probably told you to comfort them immediately. It’s something other werewolves would have found comfort in”, he analysed quietly. It did make sense, but still, he wasn’t like others… He needed his own space. Specifically from alphas.

“Yeah… It happened faster than I could process it, I guess. But it doesn’t make it okay, now does it.” He smiled just barely, before sighing again and slapping his own cheeks. “Ahhhh goddammit, and I really did want you to join too cuz I thought it would help you! And now I went and ruined the non-existent chance I had, mom and Mikasa are gonna murder me.”

“You’re just acting like an alpha, what’s it to them?” Levi wondered out loud, shrugging. Under normal circumstances, he would have stormed off immediately and not let the alpha explain shit. Then again, it didn’t happen normally, and Eren was not a normal case… Fuck, this all was making his headache, what was even happening…

“Nah, they’ll skin me alive. Sure they are both alphas too, but consent is a Big thing, with a capital B, in our pack. Well, our pack back at our hometown. Had I done the same to some others from that pack, even if I knew them, they’d give me a week-long lecture and put me to home arrest. But you weren’t even a part of pack, so you can safely assume I’m not getting out of this alive. Hey, you don’t need to worry about me then! Corpses can’t harass others!”

Levi snorted out, shaking his head and finally taking a sip of his tea. It had gone lukewarm. Such a waste of good tea, even if it had been done by Hanji. “With my rotten luck, you’d come back as a ghost to do just that.”

That made Eren smile like normal again. “Mmm, probably! And then you couldn’t even escape me, damn, you better do your best to keep me alive. Purely for your own sanity’s sake, of course.”

“Of course”, he hummed and placed his wasted tea down. His eyes turned to Eren’s cup, which the other had knocked down in the hug attack. At least the ants would have a sugar high… Or was the spillage dangerous to Earth? After all, it was cancerous in his opinion.

“Ah, crap.” Eren had followed his gaze, only now realising his drink situation. “I didn’t even get to drink it so much, and it was so good too! Not good as yours, though. I’m convinced you’re a coffee wizard.”

“If being that includes making monstrosities like that, no thanks”, he deadpanned.

“Yer a wizard, Levi. It’s either that or the coffee fairy, and while that sounds good a wizard is still cooler.”

“Mhmm, yeah, whatever.” Levi shook his head and sipped the cold tea again. It caused him to grimace. Sure he liked iced tea on occasion, but this… This was just terrible. And to add to the tragedy, he could feel a couple of rain drops on his face. Fucking perfect… The omega loved rain, but only when he could have a hot shower right after or when he was wrapped in a blanket, in the comfort of his own home. This was neither of those situations.

Eren noticed it too, looking up. “Man, I didn’t even think to check the weather forecast! I just thought it’d be nice outside like it was last week, damn…”

Levi sighed heavily, standing up. “And from that I can assume you don’t have an umbrella in that backpack of yours, either.”

“Hey, Armin’s the preparer among us!”

“From what I have gathered so far, this Armin and Mikasa sound more tolerable than you.”

“Hey, I’m right here!” Eren clearly didn’t take it too seriously, laughing it off. The alpha stood up with the bag of muffins. “Let’s get going, before it starts raining cats and dogs. Don’t wanna be completely drenched!” He crouched down once more to pick up his cup, taking it to the nearby trash can, and then mentioned for him to get up too. And Levi stood up as well, and for reasons still unknown, started following the brunet.

…

They didn’t get too far before the rain started coming down even harder. Eren groaned out loud, trying to protect the muffins by placing them under his trusty denim jacket. Maybe he should have moved to something without literal holes in it, and something preferably waterproof, but it had looked like such a nice day in the morning! Mikasa would surely have his head…

“Oh fuck’s sake…” Levi grumbled, clearly not fan of the turn of the weather either. “Okay, screw this. How far’s your apartment?”

“Uh… Well, it’s like, to the other direction from Sina. Like, some while after the university too. But it’s okay! I never get colds!” He tried to reassure the raven with a smile. He was a big, strong alpha after all. With a good immune system and all that. Mikasa said one time that it was because he had apparently eaten a lot of dirt as a kid, and not because of his alpha genes, but whatever. The results were the same!

Levi looked like he was about to say something, but the pouring got stronger so he just muttered a litany of curses under his breath.

“Fuck, whatever, okay follow me.” He turned around the corner, going a different way they had come. Eren didn’t question it – for all he knew, it was a shortcut, and he was all for that. But the further they walked, it felt like they were going in a completely another direction.

“Uhh… Levi?” He called out, but either the raven didn’t hear him in the rain, or just chose to ignore him. It could honestly be either option, considering everything he knew of him already. Which wasn’t very much, but still!

Levi continued walking in the rain, skipping over puddles, but as they were already wet to the core it didn’t do much. At least in Eren’s humble opinion. “Levi? If you are taking me to a weird shady corner to kill me, couldn’t we do that when it’s not raining as hard as it is now? Pretty please?”

“Just shut up and follow me", he grunted. Ha! So Levi could hear him, after all.

“Okaaaay, it’s just, are you sure this is the right way? Cuz I’m pretty sure we aren’t going to the direction of Sina anymore, and even though I look like I’d get lost in a supermarket, I _do_ have quite a good sense of direction.”

That got Levi to stop. Or, at least that’s what he had thought, until the other turned to him and spoke: “If you’ll come and stalk me, you’re dead, but it’s cold as fuck now so can we just get up now?”

“Uh… Up? Where? Levi, where are we?” Eren looked around, but it didn’t seem familiar to him at all. The street names didn’t ring a bell either, so…

“Oh my god, were you dropped on your head as a baby or why are you so stupid? It’s my apartment, idiot, now let’s get up. I’ll make you some good fucking tea so you’ll stop injecting that diabetes into your veins.”

And in all fairness, what else could he do but follow the coffee, and apparently, tea wizard inside the apartment building.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact n:ro one: I wasn't dropped on my head as a baby. Instead, I climbed out of a shopping cart baby seat thingy and basically jumped down with my head hitting the floor. I can't use that as an excuse for being stupid, as it's clear I was that way before the hit since I did it myself, whoops. Anywayyys, I hope to see you on my next chapter, which hopefully drops earlier than this one!


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